Alive
by Buffalo
Summary: She's back but can things really just go back to normal


A/N – So I couldn't resist after last night's premier, I have to say I thought they did an awesome job. It wasn't the most fast paced episode ever but it was the perfect way to bring them all back together.

Disclaimer – I own nothing…if I did, Prentiss never would have left the show to begin with!

She felt physically ill every time he looked at her. Because he didn't just look at her anymore, he examined her. It was like he was constantly trying to determine who she really was, like he didn't trust what he'd learned about her in the first 5 years of their partnership, their friendship.

He felt tight and nervous every time he looked at her. He wasn't just looking at her anymore, he was trying to figure it out, that feeling that had cemented itself in the pit of his stomach the moment she'd walked through those doors, alive. They'd been more than friends when she'd died; she had been his equal in the field, his partner.

She'd been surprised at how much she had missed him. She'd missed them all terribly, even JJ and Hotch and they'd known she was alive. But she'd missed the very essence of Derek Morgan; she'd missed his lighthearted humor and his heavyhearted compassion. She'd missed the way he could steady her mind or heart or nerves with just one look. She missed being able to walk into a mad man's home and knowing that he had complete faith in her, that he trusted her regardless of her sex or her size. And she missed him still.

When they had told him she was dead, something had snapped inside of him. His mind had been playing tricks, little insignificant words like, why and how needling him. Then she'd walked through those doors, and the why's and the how's took over. Was his mind still playing tricks? Had she really just wrapped her arms around him? Was she really standing there solid and breathing in front of him? He hadn't known how to react, hadn't known what to believe so he'd examined her. He had studied every move every look, every word that slipped out of her lips. Slowly whatever it was that had snapped began to heal itself, only it grew back so full of Emily Prentiss that she damn near consumed him. Suddenly, or maybe not so sudden he wasn't just thinking about how kick-ass she was, he was thinking about how soft her hands were, he was wishing he would have hugged her properly when she'd walked through those doors and he was desperately fighting the urge to kiss her.

They had worked three cases since she'd been back; all three had been handled just like they had been in the past. The team was still or maybe again was a better word; the team was again, the team it was supposed to be. Things between them on the other hand, those things were different and it was for that reason that she followed him into his office after that third case.

He heard the door shut behind him and instantly looked up. The case had been relatively easy, as easy as it could get when you were dealing with people's lives. They had done everything by the book, the paperwork would be so simple and quick he'd wanted to get it done before leaving for the night, hoping to maybe have a full day off the following day. He hadn't expected her to follow him; they didn't really talk outside of the case anymore, regardless of the case. It was too complicated to just sit and talk with her like they used to. When his eyes met hers, alone in his office, without the rest of the team or any of the other crap that he was trying to work through; that was when he realized just how much he loved her.

"I miss you," she spoke the words so quietly that she wasn't sure he'd heard her. So she said them again,

"I miss you," he'd heard her the first time but it didn't hurt to hear it again.

"I miss you too," he responded and she felt herself exhale in relief. She wasn't sure what she had expected him to say but she could live with that.

"You're angry with me, for a lot of reasons and I get that but I need us to fix this. I need us to be us again," her voice cracked and she felt for the first time the tears that had slipped from her dark eyes.

It was so unlike her to cry. Just another thing about her that didn't seem real; another thing that confused his senses, made him question his belief that she was alive and standing in front of him. So he took a step closer to her and slipped hi hand around her neck, cupping the side of her face and wiping away the tears at the same time.

"We won't ever be the same again," he whispered and she couldn't contain the gasp that escaped, "But I'm not sure that I want us to be," and before she could respond he'd covered her lips with his own.

There was no hesitation on her part, though she wouldn't have openly admitted it, not even to herself. Her hands over his stomach gently skimming the muscles that she knew lay beneath. They stopped at his chest, bunching the soft fabric of his t-shirt.

His hands took the opposite path moving down her body and gripping her hips almost roughly. It was like he couldn't get her close enough to him, like he couldn't get enough of her. His lips left hers and began a trail down her jaw, biting and soothing as he went until she couldn't control the little moans slipping past her lips.

"Derek," his name tumbled forward between them and he pulled back far enough to meet her eyes. It took a second to let their bodies calm down and then neither of them could stop the wide grins from transforming their faces.

"I can't go back to being just your partner Em," he whispered into her ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth briefly before letting go.

"That's good because I don't want to be just your friend," She captured his lips one more time and then forced herself to take a step back. It was one of the most difficult things she'd ever done, stepping away from Derek Morgan.

"Feel like helping me with some paperwork, I'll order in Chinese?" He moved back to his desk only able to keep his eyes from her for seconds at a time.

"Only if you'll skip out on the fortune cookies, I think I'd like to live in the moment for awhile," she collapsed into a chair on the other side of his desk as he picked up his phone to order them dinner.

They had a lot to discuss, but for the first time since she walked through those doors, he was convinced she was alive.

A/N – Thanks so much for reading, reviews feed my soul…plus it's my first time attempting a Criminal Minds fic, I'd love to hear what you think.


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